Dream Drop Distance: Bright Black
by DDragonWhisper
Summary: During the Mark of Mastery exam, Riku dreams of a girl he can't seem to remember. Who is she and why does she seem to know him? He journeys through the Sleeping Worlds not only to pass his exam and save Sora, but also to remember a lost friend. Second part to Chain of Memories: Bright Black. Some slight implied Riku X OC
1. Chapter 1: Who are you?

"Although my heart may be weak, it's not alone. It's grown with each new experience. And it's found a home with all the friends I've made. I've become a part of their heart, just as they've become a part of mine. And if they think of me now and then, if they don't forget me, then our hearts will be one. I don't need a weapon. My friends are my power!" – Sora, _Kingdom Hearts_

* * *

 **NOTICE:** **This is the second part in a series. The first part is** **Chain of Memories: Bright Black** **. If you have not read the first part, you may be confused by the events that follow.**

* * *

 **Notes:** Hey everyone! I'm back and also I posted this late at night so there may be errors I missed. I'll try to go through and edit it later. Although this story is short, it's not any shorter than the first part. It took me over a month to write because I just didn't like the way it was going and had to rewrite some parts. I also got some writers block and became frustrated more than once. Still, I finished it and I'm glad, even if it needs some tweaking. I'm sure it needs some tweaks. I also didn't want to post it until I completed everything so that made it take longer. I know, like the first part, it just reiterates some events but there are differences and I tried to keep known events to a minimum while making the different events coherent and story-like as possible. In a lot of ways this story is a transition between the last part and the next part I will write. Well, I still hope everyone can enjoy it. Have fun!

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Who are you?**

* * *

Riku gasped as his vision came back.

"Am I in . . . Traverse Town?" he questioned to no one in particular as he examined his clothes and new surroundings.

"My clothes have changed," he thought aloud adjusting his collar.

Only then did he realize that he was alone.

"Sora! Where are you?" he called out looking about again.

He turned around and walked toward the fountain as he thought over how he got here, "I remember we fell overboard after Ursula attacked . . . and then I think we opened a Keyhole. So . . . this must be one of the Sleeping Worlds."

"My Keyblade—it just sort of . . . popped into my hand when I needed it most," he said as he held up his hand, remembering the feeling of the weapon, "Right. It started."

"Wow! Where's your Portal?" a voice suddenly asked, startling him.

It only took a moment to pinpoint the voice from the arch above.

"It takes something special to jump between grounds without one," a boy with light blonde hair continued.

He wore plain clothing, a light blue shirt with dark blue pants. Nothing really odd other than the fact that he was sitting on high arch that looked hard to reach by normal means.

"Who are you?" Riku questioned suspiciously.

"My name is Joshua," he said simply as he brushed some hair from his face.

An equally ordinary name. Still, this was a test and he wouldn't let his guard down.

"What do you mean, 'Portal'?"

"Are we just skipping past the part where you tell me your name?" he asked a little annoyed.

Is his name all it was going to take for an answer? "Riku."

Joshua chuckled, "Hello there Riku. Portals are like gateways that link up our worlds. Apparently the worlds you and I are standing in right now—well, there are two copies of it. It's been sort of split in half. Portals are what let folks like us cross between them."

"There can be two of a world?" Riku questioned slightly surprised.

"The world is as many things as people need it to be. The concept that we all live in the same world—that's just in our heads. Surely you knew?" he answered rather cockily, "I'll tell you what, Riku. I've got a little errand for you."

Riku's eyes narrowed slightly at his last words. This situation was all too familiar; someone giving him something then asking him to do their bidding. He was finished with that kind of life.

"Sorry. I don't trust you," he said firmly, walking away.

"Aw, at least hear me out!" he said keeping a level demeanor, "I'm looking for a girl named Rhyme. She's the key to the Portal. And on the other side, who knows who we'll find? Maybe even your friend . . . Sora."

Riku stopped when he mentioned his friend, "You know Sora?"

Joshua chuckled again, "Now I have your attention."

He then dropped down to Riku's level gracefully as if gravity didn't apply to him, "But, unfortunately, I don't know where he is. If he's not in this version of the world, I can only assume he has to be in the other one. Simple logic."

He still wasn't sure if he could trust this person but so far he was the only lead he had at finding Sora, "Okay, you wanna find Rhyme? You got it. Let's go."

He then joined Joshua as they walked through this dream version of Traverse Town. Not so soon after, monsters appeared. He could only assume they were the Dream Eaters, Nightmares, that Yen Sid told them about. He wondered if Joshua knew how to fight but noticed that the Nightmares completely ignored him. Not only once but every time the Nightmares attacked they didn't seem to pay Joshua any mind. Why was that?

As they entered the Second District his curiosity got the best of him, "Joshua, why don't they ever attack you?"

"'They' being the Dream Eaters?" he clarified as they walked, "They won't go after you unless you're a dreamer. Which is funny, because I've got plenty of dreams."

Even Joshua seemed disturbed by this fact.

"But they're definitely attacking me . . . So . . . you think I'm a dreamer?" Riku asked thoughtfully, stopping in his tracks which made Joshua stop as well.

"Every human being is a dreamer," He answered, keeping his attention forward, "I had a friend once who said he never dreamed of anything, but it turned out that his were the most powerful dreams of all. You sort of remind me of him."

He then turned to Riku with a lighter tone in his voice, "Why don't we give your dreams shape? In this world, they take form as Dream Eaters, which can become great allies."

This part was a little strange; the way Joshua explained it, he had to concentrate on his dreams and bring them to light. So many dreams to think of, but what was most important to him? His friends, he wanted to be there for his friends this time. By grasping the idea of his dream and holding it tight in his heart, a bat creature materialized in front of him, happily screeching and flapping.

"I gotchu now, Joshua!" a boy suddenly shouted, running up in front of the hotel and throwing a foot up on the railing.

He wore a tank top and a skull hat along with a big chain necklace and some yellow-tan pants. He seemed to be extremely energetic in the way we moved.

"Once I take you down, yo, me and Rhyme is goin' back were we belong!" he announced.

Joshua seemed exhausted by him already, "Beat. How many times do we have to go over this? You've been tricked—by the rogue in the black coat."

Riku attached to this information, "What? Black coats? But that's . . ."

Could it be the organization again?

"I'm telling you you've made a friend of our enemy," Joshua stated calmly.

Beat wasn't feeling this conversation at all as he yelled, "Just can it, alright? Your inverse psychiatry ain't gonna work! Let's go, Dream Eaters!"

A panda-like creature appeared and happily runs over to Riku's bat.

"What? Man, not cool!" Beat shouted, frustrated.

Joshua only laughed as Nightmares appeared as well.

Riku fought them off with his new ally Spirits.

After the last one was extinguished Beat sighed angrily, falling into a sitting position on the railing, "You know what? Forget it. This is stale, yo."

Joshua walked up beside him keeping his cool tone, "Playing the tough guy 24/7? I'd be worn out too."

"I just . . . wanna protect the one person who matters," he said quietly and earnestly.

"I know the feeling," Riku commented without much thought to it when a sudden drowsiness washed over his mind.

His hand instinctively went to his head as he could barely hear his own words, "Why am I suddenly . . . so sleepy?"

His vision wavered and darkened while his body gave in and fell forward. He was out before the collision with the ground.

Just as unexpected as his sudden sleepiness, his thoughts were overtaken by certain phrases and thoughts from earlier that seemed to repeat themselves over and over again in a jumble of nonsense:

 _I'm looking for a girl named—_

 _I just . . . wanna protect the one person who matters._

 _What was most important to him?_

 _He wanted to be there for his friends._

 _What's important to him?_

 _Wanna protect the one person—_

 _Looking for a girl—_

 _Be there for his friends_

 _I know the feeling_

And like a sudden convergence the phrases melted into one more solid thought:

 _I just wanted to be there to protect that girl._

"I promise we will meet again," an unfamiliar, yet familiar, female voice sounded out clearly.

He gasped and opened his eyes. Suddenly he was standing in a completely white room, wide awake.

As he took in his new surroundings he was struck by where he was, "I'm in . . . Castle Oblivion."

Looking down at his clothes he noticed that they were still the same. Was this another one of the Sleeping Worlds?

"Riku, wait up!" he turned to find a girl run up the steps, a little winded.

She had mid-length black hair and wore a maroon top with capris pants and boots. The black feather accessory shifted and blended into her hair as she caught her breath and smiled.

"I thought you were going to leave me behind," she said a little worried.

He didn't recognize her at all so how did she know his name? She was talking so familiarly with him.

He couldn't help but ask, "Who are you?"

She seemed surprised for a moment, "Are you alright?"

Looking him over, she assessed, "You don't look injured. Did you hit your head maybe?"

"I'm fine," he said but was unsure whether he was really alright or not, "Have we met before?"

He was genuinely curious by now. Something besides the white walls of the castle seemed familiar.

She tilted her head slightly concerned as she explained, "Yeah, here. Well, not here specifically but in the basement of this castle."

He thought back but as far as he knew; he was alone the whole time. He never met anyone like her while ascending Castle Oblivion.

Her nervousness came out in her words, "You really didn't forget . . . did you?"

He was at a loss for something to say, "I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine," she sighed, "Maybe the cards will help. They are made of your memories after all."

He followed her line of sight to his hand where he was holding three cards. He hadn't even noticed them before. They were indeed the World Cards from Castle Oblivion. What was going on?

Composing himself, he found a place to start questioning, "Maybe if you tell me what happened I might remember. What happened before you . . . caught up to me?"

"Hmm," she thought looking to the side, "Well we fought a lot of Heartless and before that we met up with a talking mouse king."

"What?" he almost exclaimed, "You saw Mickey?"

"Y-yeah," she answered, surprised by his response, "I think he is called King Mickey. You only called him 'your majesty.' I mean, he was also only an illusion at the time but he seemed nice."

"So," Riku thought speaking under his breath, "this is right after that."

How would she have known about Mickey's illusion? He was alone the whole time, wasn't he? Was she trying to trick him or—

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw her head lowered. She was mumbling something barely audible.

"What—" he was about to say but something twisted in his chest as he held it.

Words seemed to waver in and out, "Wake . . . up . . ."

"Wake up," the phrase then vibrated loudly in his ears.

He found himself face down and opened his eyes slowly, still feeling the after effects of the heavily holding drowsiness on his mind as it melted away.

Lifting his head he wondered, "What happened? Did I fall asleep?"

Was it all just a dream? Why did he even fall asleep in the first place? Who was that girl anyway? Was this part of the test? As he tried to remember the events they only became fuzzier.

Dismissing it for now, he picked himself up and looked around for the people he saw before the mysterious drowsiness, "Where are Joshua and Beat?"

"Hey, do you mind?" a female voice said.

He turned and only caught a glimpse of a girl being chased by Nightmares. He followed her swiftly to the First District only to see her surrounded by enemies. He jumped in between her and the Dream Eaters while summoning his Keyblade.

"Stay back," he ordered and fought off the creatures in no time.

Once they were gone, all was silent again.

"Seriously, thanks," the girl walked up to him and smiled, holding up her cute black cat doll, "I'm Shiki, how 'bout you?"

"Riku," he introduced simply.

This time Riku got a good look at her. She had pink hair, a hat, a small hoodie and a short skirt with a bag attached to it. He didn't realize it at first but after that dream, or whatever it was, he was kind of hoping it was the black-haired girl he met. He still had a lot more questions for her.

"Thanks, Riku," she said happily moving her doll as well.

"Sure," he responded and walked off.

Even though he was disappointed that it wasn't the girl he met before, she was safe. At least that was a relief.

"Hey! That's it? You chat up a girl and then just say, "Sure," and walk off?" She said with mild surprise and annoyance.

Riku stopped and turned back to her realizing he was becoming too caught up in his thoughts, "I'm bad at this. Sorry. Look, it's not safe here. You should go home."

"If it's dangerous, how can you just leave me here? Aren't you my knight in shining armor?" she held up her cat and cuddled it as if talking to the doll.

"Well?" she then winked at him.

"Kn-knight?" he floundered over the word, a little flustered, "You've got the wrong idea."

"Omigosh, I was so just kidding. You get out much?" she asked a little embarrassed that he took it so seriously.

She really did hit the nail on the head. He crossed his arms not knowing how to act.

"You remind me of this guy I know," she said thoughtfully playing with her cat doll, "Well, good thing we met."

"Yeah, great," he said a little annoyed by the earlier question.

She had followed him after that. It turned out she was looking for the boy he reminded her of. Unfortunately, when she described him, Riku hadn't seen anyone like that. Shiki wasn't really all that bad to have around, she was a little flaky but nothing unbearable. It was nice to have company but protecting someone was another complication. Somehow it felt oddly familiar to travel like this. The idea tickled the back of his mind.

They had only entered the Fifth district when Shiki ran off, "Over there!"

"Hey! We should stick together!" he shouted after her as he heard a scream.

"Perfect," he commented lowly.

He then ran over to the staircase anticipating more Nightmares, "You can't expect me to—"

There stood a man in a black cloak who crushed Shiki's doll under his foot.

"Shiki! No way . . ." he couldn't believe that she was gone.

"How did you get here?" the man demanded.

"Who are you?" Riku asked firmly.

He had been asking this question a lot lately.

The man kicked the doll which hit Riku in the chest, making him look down at it.

"By choice or chance? You cannot control what you are not aware of," he continued to talk as he walked down the stairs, "This wakeless sleep will be your prison . . . to wander forever."

Riku backed away until he reached the edge of the fountain sensing something sinister from this person. Feeling the strange twisting sensation in his chest from before, he held the uncomfortable pain.

"What do you mean?" Riku questioned.

"Riku, don'chu listen to that punk!" he heard Beat shout as Riku looked over to see both him and Shiki standing at the other end of the fountain.

"Shiki's gonna be fine! She told me whassup. Hoodie here set this whole thing up, yo. He promised to send Shiki back to our world, and you was the cost of travel," Beat explained with his same boundless energy.

He then turned his harsh words on the cloaked man, "Yo, this is seriously one half-baked excuse for a mission. Betchu ain't even a Reaper."

The man pulled back his hood to reveal silver hair and yellow eyes.

Riku's eyes narrow as he asked again, "All right. Who are you?"

The man only raised his hands summoning a massive Nightmare which flew away, giving him enough time to escape through a corridor of darkness.

"Wait!" Riku yelled trying to catch the opening but it had closed too fast.

He couldn't catch him this time but he had a feeling that wasn't the last he would see of cloaked figure.

He ran over to Beat and Shiki, who looked sheepish and guilty, "I'm really sorry, Riku."

He only tossed her the doll surprising her a little, "It's all right. Beat, watch her."

"I got this yo!" Beat confidently declared.

He ran after the Nightmare making sure it didn't cause any havoc. After the battle, lights showered down revealing a projection image of Sora, Joshua and two other people he didn't know.

"Hey, what is this?" Shiki questioned curiously.

Riku walked up to Sora examining the image of his friend, "What are we . . . seeing?"

Just as he was about to touch him he flinched at Beats boisterous voice, "This is so messed up, man!"

Beat tried to get a hold of the small girl but his hands only went through her, "She's right here in front of me and . . . I can't reach her!"

"If your hearts are connected, you'll reach her," Riku reassured Beat who looked defeated.

For a moment his head hurt and that same twisting feeling came back like it did recently. Even his own words seemed to bother him lately.

Everyone said their respective partner's name and so did Riku, "Sora."

Later on after everyone went their separate ways, Riku and Sora stayed with Joshua for answers.

"In their world, something happened that brought their existence to an end. To keep them from fading altogether, I gathered up the very last remnants of their dreams and looked for a place to give them refuge. It was then this world appeared to answer my call, and Rhyme's dreams allowed us to reach it. Here, I thought they might have a chance—that the pieces of their dreams could make them whole again. Imagine my surprise when I realized dreams take bodily form in this world. It struck me—by linking their dream pieces back together, maybe I could make them exist again. Maybe I could give them another chance," Joshua explained.

"It can't be that simple," Riku protested skeptically.

"Well why can't it? By ourselves, we're no one. It's when other people look at us and see someone—that's the moment we each start to exist. All they needed was for someone to see them, connect with them. And the two of you were a big part of making it happen," he calmly reasoned.

"Joshua, just . . . who are you?" Riku and Sora said together.

He only chuckled, "Let's just say . . . a friend."

Joshua then grew great white wings from his back and flew away. A Keyhole appeared in his wake as Sora and Riku nodded to one another before unlocking the Sleeping World.

Riku felt like he was falling again into another world as he thought about Joshua's words. Maybe if other people look at us and see someone then that's when we start to exist. If it were only that easy.

* * *

In the next, world things had gone smoothly so far, well, as smooth as they could have but did it have to come to this?

Frollo stood atop the railing of the bell tower and was knocked over by his own Wargoyle Dream Eater. The sword he held fell onto the stone floor.

"Judgment is mine!" he yelled in unmistakable madness.

Just then Riku saw two figures appear near him and gasped as he realized who one of them was, "You're Ansem! Why are you here?"

The other person happened to be the cloaked man from Traverse Town, "Your best friend is never far."

Ansem bent down and picked up the sword, "So sad. The cost of yielding to the darkness."

"You could write a book about that," Riku growled accusingly, keeping a defensive stance.

Ansem then pointed the sword at Riku, "But I embraced the darkness—and unless you hurry up and learn to do the same, your story will end just like his."

Riku glared at him summoning his Keyblade and stated firmly, "I walk the road to dawn!"

"Still afraid of the dark I see," the other man said as he summoned a dark corridor.

Ansem followed behind the him and smirked at Riku before disappearing.

"Wait!" Riku yelled but was too late again.

"He thinks I'm afraid of the dark?" Riku thought aloud, "No, not while I have the Keyblade."

The Wargoyle roared as Riku readied himself for a fight, "It will guide me to the light!"

He furiously battled the large Dream Eater and when he made the final blow the large creature fell into the flames below.

After all was said and done, the dawn came and in the day the fires were extinguished.

Riku met up with Quasimodo again at the bottom of the cathedral.

"Master Frollo—he made me live inside the bell tower, but the real walls were the ones I built around my heart. You helped me see that, Riku."

Riku clenches his fist and somewhat sadly said, "I was . . . speaking from personal experience."

"I'd say you still keep a lot locked inside," the former guard Phoebus commented.

"We all do that sometimes," Esmeralda soothed, "There are just some things we need to keep separate from the world at large, at least until we have time to figure them out."

Riku nodded at her smile. As he said farewell a sudden drowsiness hit him once more.

"Why . . . again?" he said as everything melted away before him while he fell endlessly into sleep.

The phrases came back like puzzle pieces scattering around him:

 _How can you just leave me here?_

 _We should stick together!_

 _Wakeless sleep will be your prison_

 _I'm sorry, Riku_

 _If your hearts are connected, you'll reach her._

 _All they needed was for someone to see them, connect with them._

 _Embrace the darkness—_

 _He thinks I'm afraid of the dark?_

 _You still keep a lot locked inside_

They then converged on a single point:

 _Locked inside, your hearts are connected._

He then opened his eyes to a white room; Castle Oblivion. Why was he brought back here?

"Riku, what's wrong?" the black-haired girl from before questioned with concern in front of him.

"Nothing," he answered although there was an unknown turmoil in his heart.

He felt it was best to play along with the strange dream, maybe he would find out more that way.

"I can see it on your face," she pointed out sadly, "It's the darkness again isn't it?"

He gasped as words lodged in his throat. Was he really that obvious?

"Don't worry," she smiled, "You'll definitely be able to overcome it."

"Right," he smiled back.

"I guess we should keep moving," she said looking at the stairs.

"Where to?" he asked.

"To the next floor of course," she grinned, climbing the stairs.

That's right. He looked down at his hand to see a World Card.

When she noticed he wasn't coming she questioned him in concern, "Are you sure you are alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said climbing the stairs and holding up the card. It glowed and disappeared like so many others and the door swung open. It was a strange feeling to be doing this again.

"Hey Riku," she said stopping as he was about to enter.

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

"Follow your heart," she smiled.

"Huh?"

"I mean," she tried to save herself from embarrassment, "You just looked bothered and I know it's kind of cliché to say but I just felt like I should say it."

He laughed, "No, thank you."

It may have seemed cheesy to say but for some reason it was just what he needed to hear.

She looked away feeling awkward but Riku knew this kind of feeling in his chest was really familiar.

In only a moment, a flood of memories of her, if that is what they were, ran through his mind. When they had first met at the bottom of the castle, seeing Ansem, fighting through Hallow Bastian and countless other worlds. They were only brief images, nothing he could piece together fully.

A pain erupted in his crest as he held onto it, feeling like something was trying to escape.

Collapsing in on himself he could barely make out the girl calling for him, "Riku!"

The world around him seemed to shrink away as words echoed, "It's weakening. Soon there won't be anything to hold it back. I'm sorry."

He awoke face down on the stones in front of the cathedral. He got up as the sleep wore off, still grasping his chest where a throbbing lingered. These dreams, were they more than that? Why was he having them now? He had no memory of her before. Although, in Castle Oblivion, Sora slept to regain his memories. Did that place change his memories as well?

Plagued by questions and doubt he thought of what Ansem said earlier. Ansem had been there in Castle Oblivion too, spouting the same old things.

That girl had told him to follow his heart. His answer then was the same as now. There was only one path he would take.

"I know the road my heart walks," he said calmly as a Keyhole appeared.

He summoned his Keyblade and unlocked yet another Sleeping World.


	2. Chapter 2: Dreams and Reality

**Chapter 2: Dreams and Reality**

* * *

Arriving in another world he heard a voice echo in desperation.

"Pinocchio!" an elderly man called out on a wrecked boat, "Son! Where have you run off to?"

"Isn't that . . . Geppetto? Then . . . this must be . . ." Riku commented taking in his surroundings.

The place he was in was damp and dark like a cavern only with warm moving walls. Wrecked pieces of ships were scattered around the reservoir of water at the bottom of the strange cavern. He realized he was inside the mouth of Monstro.

He made his way over to the boat, carefully maneuvering over the broken wood pieces, to talk to the old man.

"What's the matter?" Riku asked while the Geppetto was fretting.

He was startled by the boy's sudden presence, "Huh? Goodness, who are you?"

"Riku."

Geppetto was sympathetic, "Oh, Riku. You poor lad. Seems you were swallowed up by Monstro just like the rest of us. My name is Geppetto, and I'm looking for my son, Pinocchio."

"Pinocchio's gone missing?" he questioned.

The old man's expression sank into sadness as he explained, "I'm afraid so. After all my searching, I found him here in the whale. But then he ran off again to who-knows-where."

"That sounds kind of . . . familiar," Riku said, thinking back for a moment, "Mister Geppetto, let me go look for your son."

"You would do that?" the old man perked up, "Thank you. Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Leave it to me," Riku assured him.

"Did ya say you were really going to help us find Pinocchio?" a voice asked in disbelief.

Turning in the direction of the voice, Riku saw a familiar cricket, "Jiminy?"

"Huh? That's right—name's Jiminy! Jiminy Cricket. But shucks, have we met?" the small creature asked, a little confused.

That's right, these worlds were different so he wouldn't know him. Still, even this conversation was familiar. Is this how he sounded when he asked the girl in his dreams who she was?

"No—you know, never mind," he brushed of the question.

"Hmm, if you say so. Anyway, Pinocchio comes first," Jiminy prioritized, although he was still a little skeptical.

"Right. Any idea where he went?" Riku questioned.

"Well, I'm almost certain he wandered off with a stranger," he said concerned.

"Can you describe him?"

"Hmm . . . I remember he was dressed in a black coat."

Riku gasped, "A black coat? He's back again."

So he was even here also. Maybe this time he could catch up to him and asked him more about what he had said before.

"Thanks," Riku made sure to say before walking off.

Jiminy had suddenly jumped up on his shoulder surprising him, "Huh?"

"Well, I'm goin' with ya. Pinocchio's gonna need his conscience, and that's where I come in," the cricket stated with fire.

Their travels through the great whale were difficult. He didn't remember all of these passages the last time he was here, although, this was a dream so it may have been a little different.

When they had entered a new area he saw the black cloaked figure with the puppet.

"Pinocchio!" Jiminy called out.

The figured turned toward them.

"Jiminy!" the puppet exclaimed happily.

"Let him go now!" Riku demanded.

The hooded figured nudged Pinocchio who was puzzled by the action for a moment only to run up to Jiminy who hopped up to meet him.

"Thank goodness. Are you all right? Riku and I looked for ya everywhere," the cricket asked with relief.

"Un-huh. I'm just fine," Pinocchio smiled but apologized, "Sorry, Jiminy. I messed up real bad. You and Father must have been so worried about me."

Jiminy was impressed, "Why, Pinocchio, I think ya just might be finally startin' to learn."

Riku walked over to the figure. This person's scent was different from the one he met before. He couldn't be the same hooded man.

"Who are you?"

The figured removed his hood in response to reveal a version of Riku.

"Me?" Riku said in disbelief.

A corridor of darkness opened as the doppelganger walked through it calmly. Riku ran to catch it but missed it like always.

"As I live and breathe . . ." Jiminy commented in disbelief as well.

"That was my . . . my dark side. I gave in to the darkness once. And ever since, it's chased me around in one form or another. The Seeker of Darkness who stole my body . . . a puppet replica of the shadows in my heart . . . and now, I'm facing me," Riku explained discouragingly with a hand over his heart.

"Your dark side?" Jiminy asked, wondering what he meant.

"Gee, Riku, don't you have a Jiminy like I do? He's my conscience. He's taught me all kinds of important stuff. Maybe you just need somebody to show you what's right and wrong," Pinocchio suggested innocently.

"Sure. You can't shoulder all your problems alone, ya know. You must have somebody—a friend you can talk to?" the cricket questioned with concern, hopping up on Pinocchio's shoulder.

"Yeah . . . actually, I do. That stupid grin he's always wearing—he's the best teacher I could ever have," Riku responded with a thoughtful smile.

Strangely this had made him think of that girl as well. If she was a friend; what was she like? What did they talk about? If she was with him in Castle Oblivion then she must have known about his darkness.

"Gee whiz . . . I wish I had lots of good friends," the puppet said a little discouraged.

"You will, Pinocchio. More than you can count," his cricket friend encouraged.

Monstro wailed as the place shook like an earthquake.

"What now?" Riku exclaimed, ready for anything.

He then sensed something through a passage nearby.

"Is something in there? Pinocchio, Jiminy, you should head back. I'll see what's shaking things up," Riku suggested.

"Okay," the two agreed and left.

Riku proceeded further in the whale and found a Char Clawbster Nightmare causing trouble. It shot two blasts at him but he slid under the monster to the other side. It was a long battle and he didn't come out without a few scratches. There was a particularly bad wound on his left arm that he held as the monster disappeared. He had only a moment of silence before the drowsiness took over.

"Not . . . now," he barely got out before he plunged down into sleep.

Unlike before he didn't hear any words, there was only the pain in his chest. The walls became the familiar white and like before it was like he had always been there.

"Are you alright?" the black-haired girl was back and beside him, concerned.

She used Curaga without waiting for an answer, making his wounds disappear.

"Thanks," he said feeling a lot better but there was still the mysterious pain in his chest.

She smiled softly in response.

He composed himself only to see another familiar face.

"Surprised? I guess you should be," another Riku strolled closer, "After all, I look just like you. It's not every day you meet your twin, but this should come as a relief then: I'm an exact replica of you that Vexen made from your data."

Things seemed to be happening in a similar way like in other worlds.

"You're that fake me," Riku said thoughtfully.

"I didn't mean fake!" the Riku replica exclaimed offended, "I don't care if you're real! You're not better! We share the same body and the same talents. But there is one easy way to tell us apart, though!"

He seemed to be reacting the same way. Where all these dreams just reliving the past?

The Riku replica pointed at him almost accusingly, "Unlike you, I fear nothing."

Riku scoffed defensively, "I'm not a coward."

"You ARE a coward. You're afraid of the dark!" the Riku replica accused cockily, "The darkness inside you still frightens you, no matter what you say."

He had it wrong. It wasn't like that anymore.

"But I'M different. I embrace the darkness. I can make it do whatever I want," the replica said with confidence changing into a dark mode of Riku and summoning his sword, "So . . . I can wipe the floor with you!"

He really was as over confident as he remembered. Summoning his Keyblade he took his normal battle stance.

Noticing the difference in his sword the girl commented, "Riku what is-?"

"Stay back," he ordered as she nodded.

"Even with that sword you're not going to win," the replica declared cockily.

"We'll see about that," Riku retorted before commencing the fight.

He was surprised that the replica still could read most of his attacks. Even so, he gained the upper hand with his Keyblade.

They clashed blades and held them there as the replica growled, "I'm not going to lose to someone like you!"

A dark power flared around him. Riku didn't remember this happening before. The replica then came at him with more force. It was all he could do to keep up. Where did he suddenly get this power?

The pain in his chest was back, causing him to falter. The replica smirked when he knew his blade would tear right through his enemy. It was too late to react so Riku prepared for the impact but ice magic shot out of nowhere.

The replica was caught off guard and stepped back. Looking over his shoulder, Riku noticed the girl with her crescent staff raised and glowing.

"Sorry Riku. I know you wanted to fight this alone but I can't stand here and watch you get hurt if there's something I can do about it," she said with a fierce look in her eyes.

This was the person he saw when those memories had flashed before his eyes; a person with pure determination.

"Thanks" he said as he all but forgot his pain.

That's right, he had friends: Sora, Kairi, Mickey and maybe . . . even her. He couldn't remember it fully but there was something telling him he wasn't alone in the castle back then. Even now, he wasn't alone.

The fight had gone much better when the two of them were fighting. They were strangely in sync. They had fought together before even if he really couldn't remember it that well. Eventually the replica huffed in defeat.

"I thought I heard you say you were gonna wipe the floor with me," Riku said with irony, having said something similar before.

"Tch," the replica scoffed holding his side, "If you didn't have someone helping you I would have won. You're just another weakling that's afraid of the dark."

"Friends aren't a weakness," he declared thinking back, "As long as I have them and the Keyblade, they will always guide me to the light."

The replica laughed as well as he could still holding his injured side.

"What's so funny?" Riku questioned suspiciously.

He smirked, "Friends will guide you to the light, huh? Darkness is closer than you think."

Suddenly, darkness sprung from his chest latching onto him and pulling him into an inky puddle on the floor. He struggled against it, grasping onto the black tendrils but they wouldn't loosen.

"Riku!" the girl shouted.

He glanced over at her the best he could only to see that the darkness was emanating from her. Her worried expression showed signs of desperation as she reached out for him.

He was then pulled under into a cold dark pool. Everything disappeared, there was only darkness here. Where had his Keyblade gone? He was sure that he would be crushed by the darkness until he felt a warm light above him. It grew and fell gently into him. It was an unusually different feeling but also nostalgic at the same time.

"Riku!" he heard her call again.

With more determination this time his Keyblade appeared which pierced through the darkness with its light. It had become blinding in an instant. Closing his eyes he felt like he was falling again.

Opening his heavy eyelids he awoke on the squishy ground inside Monstro. Trying to compose himself he thought of what happened before he fell asleep in this world. Remembering the injury, his hand went to his shoulder but he flinched when he noticed it wasn't there anymore. Where these dreams really just dreams?

Making his way back through the pulsing corridors to check on Pinocchio and Jiminy, he thought over events. There was something about the dreams he was having. Where they actually memories? It's like he was visiting events from the past only they were slightly different. Master Yen Sid did say that dreams sometimes paint a fuller picture and restore what seems to be missing.

Riku reached the mouth of the whale just as Pinocchio was reunited with his father.

"I thought I was only sent into the past on the Destiny Islands. So why does it seem like time was rewound in this world too? Maybe it's like Master Yen Sid said—the world was freed from darkness, but has yet to wake from it. It's trapped in a never-ending dream."

The events of this world and even the dream of that girl were replaying what had already happened. If the dreams recovered what was missing then he definitely knew her? Although, he still didn't know who she was or why he had forgotten her. Not matter what, he would find out.

A Keyhole appeared above him as he summoned his Keyblade to unlock another Sleeping World.

* * *

Riku traveled through the worlds plagued with his own thoughts. Of all times for his memories to resurface, why now? The dreams seemed like more than dreams, even more than memories. Or was this all part of the test?

When he arrived in another world he looked around skeptically, "Traverse Town? Why am I back?"

Hearing footsteps from behind him he could practically smell who it was already.

"Joshua," Riku stated closing his eyes knowingly.

"Nice of you to join us," Joshua said while walking up to him.

Sensing that things felt a little different here, Riku asked, "What happened?"

"Trouble happened. I was hoping one of you could help," Joshua seemed a little desperate under his calm appearance.

"When did Sora get here?" Riku questioned thinking that he would be the only other person he would be talking about.

"Bravo, Riku. Why can't he be this quick on the uptake?" the blonde boy praised.

"Yeah, well. Sora's a little..." Riku said with a smile thinking of a hundred words to describe his friend.

They both ended up laughing. In a way it sort of cleared the serious air if only for a moment.

Joshua folded his arms then explained, "Now, let's get down to the problem. We've got a nasty Dream Eater on our hands. It keeps jumping between worlds. Not only that, it knows how to summon creatures like it—pretty powerful ones too. The others are on a mission to stop it, but they need help."

"The others? You mean Shiki and her friends?" Riku questioned.

"That's right. They all found their Game partners, and Shiki is over fighting in the other Traverse Town. In fact, Sora is helping them out," Joshua informed.

"Good to hear. So what can I do?" he offered.

Joshua answered simply, "Actually, the Dream Eater just reappeared in the fountain plaza. I sent Beat and his partner to face it."

"I'm on it," Riku said before walking past him already thinking ahead.

Joshua turned his head as if wondering whether to say something or not, "Riku. There's something else you need to know."

Riku stopped and turned back, "Hmm?"

"These two Traverse Towns separated by the Portal . . . I was under the impression they were parallel worlds, but it looks like I was wrong," he explained.

"Wrong how?" Riku fully turns back, his interest peaked.

Joshua seemed thoughtful, "That's where it gets tricky. After you and Sora left, Shiki crossed the Portal to join her Game partner. Did you notice Players have a mission timer inscribed on their hands? Well, when she got to the other side, Shiki had more time left on her clock than her partner. And when Beat's partner crossed over from the other side, she had _less_ time left."

"So time flows differently here and there? So what? That's true of any two worlds. Their home world would be running on a different time axis too," Riku brushed off.

Joshua only continued, unfazed, "Yes, I understand that. But if these Traverse Towns were parallel worlds, then time would flow the same in both. But it doesn't, ergo they are not parallel worlds."

"You mean there's a past . . . and a future," Riku offered.

Joshua nearly sighed, "No. Impossible. The worlds are clearly separate—it's not just time that sets them apart. As you yourself noted, every world flows at its own pace, which tells me that for all their similarities, these are two distinct worlds."

"Distinct worlds?"

"Yes . . . but this is all conjecture. It's like the same world imagined by two people. What does that tell you? That we're in . . ." Joshua left the last part to Riku to figure out.

Riku was thoughtful for only a moment before finishing the sentence, "A dream."

"Yes. Bravo again, Riku," Joshua complimented seriously, "In which case none of this may matter one bit to me or my friends. But to you and Sora, I think it might be a vital clue."

This was a vital clue. No wonder they never found each other in the dream worlds. They were both in different dreams of the same place. The only question remained is that if they were in different dreams then whose where they in?

Riku broke out of his thoughts to address the matter at hand, "Right . . . Thanks. So you need me in the plaza?"

"Wow. I'm running out of 'bravos'," Joshua said coolly as always.

"Be right back," Riku said almost smiling.

He then ran off toward the plaza noticing that there were indeed more Dream Eaters than normal. He had just entered the Fourth District only to see a small blonde girl and Beat fighting a bird-like Nightmare. They seemed like they were having some trouble as he ran up to them, summoning his Keyblade.

"Beat!"

"About time, yo!" Beat said a little annoyed.

"Beat, what happened to your Dream Eaters?" Riku asked wondering why he was taking on an enemy like this without them.

"Don't need 'em when I've got my Game partner. And I don't need you!" Beat yelled still ready to fight.

The small girl turned and teased him, "Oh, here we go again. Five seconds ago, it was, "Where's Riku"—and now the act?"

"Bwaaah! Don't tell him that," Beat said embarrassed.

The girl giggled knowing how he would react.

She then turned to Riku to introduce herself, "It's so nice to meet you. I'm Rhyme. Riku, right? Sorry my partner's acting like a doofus."

Riku relaxed into the normal conversation, dispelling his blade.

"I am not!" Beat protested, "You always gotta go around and . . . and garnish my reputation!"

"Since when? You burned that bridge all by yourself. Nobody raises his reputation by lowering others," Rhyme teased again.

Riku laughed at the pair. They really went well together. It kind of reminded him of his own friends.

"Yo, Riku. You gonna sit there and let her get in my grill?" Beat asked trying to get someone to back him up.

"Sorry," Riku apologized for his previous mirth but kept smiling, "it's just . . . you two are cut from the same cloth."

"I know!"

"I ain't made of cloth!"

They both spoke at the same time. Beat laughed looking back over at Rhyme.

"Beat looks and talks like a punk, but there's a heart of gold in there somewhere," she explained to Riku.

"Yeah. He's come through for me, so I know what you mean," Riku responded fondly.

"There, see? I'm a—Rhyme! You didn't just call me a punk again!" Beat retorted when he figured out what she said.

They all ended up laughing as the bird decided it had been ignored long enough, letting out a screech.

"All right, now we ruffled its feathers," Riku readied himself for battle again and asked, "Ready to do this?"

"Yeah!" The other two said together getting ready as well.

The bird then summoned other Dream Eaters in great quantities and flew off on its broomstick toward another district.

"Me and Rhyme'll handle things here," Beat declared confidently.

"You go after that thing!" Rhyme added.

"Right!" Riku confirmed before running after the bird.

As he chased it down the narrow back streets, it summoned a herd of Cera Terror Dream Eaters that stampeded toward him.

"Quantity versus quality, huh?" Riku commented before making short work of these numerous beasts.

A portal appeared above him on an archway and so did Joshua.

"Riku, the Third District! We're going to pin it between both worlds!" he told him urgently.

"Got it!" Riku yelled before running off again.

Jumping from wall to wall, he caught up to the giant bird and finally cornered him.

"I got you now!" Riku stated in front of the Nightmare.

Beat and Rhyme arrive in the upper area after they finished of their fight with the other Dream Eaters.

Beat yelled "This is my street, yo!"

"You gotta play by the rules," Rhyme added.

The bird took the time to escape through a portal.

"Oh, no!" Beat shouted.

"Hey!" his partner yelled as well.

Riku only dispelled his Keyblade looking up at the place where it disappeared, "Sora, you got this."

Even if they were in different dreams he knew Sora was on the other side. In reality they weren't far apart. Something twisted in his chest as he thought of the other dream, the one in Castle Oblivion.

Beat and Rhyme made their way down the steps toward Riku.

Beat couldn't help but complain, "This is so tired, yo. Every time we chase him down . . ."

"I know. But we've got an ally on the other side. Don't worry," Riku assured him.

Beat pouted, "Yeah, well, I still don't like it."

Joshua suddenly descended from above, "You know, you are such a good listener, Beat. You're like a sponge really."

"Me? I'm not a sponge. I'm just me," Beat smiled with an active response.

Rhymed giggled from her partner's reaction.

Joshua put a hand to his head as if it would help him think of something, "You mean, Daisukenojo Bito?"

Beat flinched and held up his arms defensively, "Hey! Don't use my full name!"

"That's a weird name," Riku said thoughtfully.

"Hey!" Beat yelled, getting embarrassed.

Rhyme couldn't help but laugh, which caught on with Riku as well. Just then, a Keyhole appeared nearby causing him to turn away from the joyful bunch for a moment.

"Well," he said looking at everyone in turn, "it's time to go."

He then walked toward the Keyhole as Rhyme called out, "Hey, Riku—thanks."

"Yeah," Beat added giving the thumbs-up, "stay cool. We'll catch up with you soon."

"Mm-hmm. Say hi to Sora," Rhyme smiled and waved.

Riku waved back looking over his shoulder, "Sure."

"Riku," Joshua said seriously, "Remember what I said. Be careful. If this really is a dream, it's going to lie to you to try and make you think it's real."

Riku stopped and replied, "I got it."

"What?" Beat interjected, confused, "I don't got it."

Joshua waved him off, "You and Sora would break your heads on this one."

"Bwaaah?" Beat sounded, energetically as always.

Everyone laughed once more before Riku summoned his Keyblade to unlock the world's Keyhole once again.

The world fell away but unlike before so did his consciousness. It was hard to tell at first but an invisible spire seemed to run straight through his heart as his head spun. His heart was pounding in his ears. It was almost like he couldn't breathe. Everything was dark around him.

"Riku!" A familiar female voice called out.

More vague, blurry memories flashed through his mind in a bright light. Suddenly, he found himself on a white stone floor feeling strangely stiff as he picked himself up. He only just sat up when he noticed the black-haired girl in front of him. She was sitting on the floor with eyes shining from tears.

Confused by her sad state he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Riku!" she yelled and hugged him abruptly.

Surprised not only by the action but by the fact that he didn't feel so heavy anymore, he reluctantly hugged back.

She sobbed quietly and said, "I thought you were gone."

By now he didn't find it strange how familiar this seemed.

A warmth spread in his chest as he somehow knew what to say, "I heard you call my name . . . when I was in the darkness."

This, for whatever reason, made her part from him in an instant.

She looked him in the eyes bewildered, "What?"

"I heard you," he said putting a hand to his chest as if to keep the lingering warmth there, "It was you, wasn't it?"

She seemed a little sad and flustered as she looked to the side, "I just . . . didn't want you to disappear."

He smiled, "Funny you would say that."

Here he couldn't remember anything about her and she was the one worried if he would disappear. Still, something bothered him. Joshua had said earlier that dreams would try to lie to him to make him think they were real. All of these memories and dreams of her, he couldn't help but think that maybe they were all false. They felt so real but they were only dreams after all. Was it a trick? Was he being played for something?

The pain returned making him wince. He collapsed in on himself feeling dizzy.

"Riku," she said, concerned as always, getting closer as if to help.

There it was again: just by saying his name he felt somehow connected to her. Could all of what he felt be fake?

"Hey, are you alright?" she asked making an action as if to touch him but hesitated.

His heartbeat was pounding in his head again. He huffed as he barely held himself up on the floor. Looking down he noticed black ooze on the ground. Most likely it was another dark portal forming to suck him in like always only this time the dark mass spread quickly enveloping everything, including the black-haired girl as well. She screamed out in surprise and tried to reach him. He tried to reach out for her too but they both sank into a black water.

He couldn't see anything, he couldn't breath. He couldn't even tell which way was up or down as he floated in the darkness. Through his pain he wondered where the girl had gone. Was she in the same situation too? Trying to swim though the strange water he searched around but his lungs were starting to burn from lack of oxygen. Was this the end for him?

A faint sound echoed in the water. It grew louder and clearer the more he listened.

Finally the sounds started to make sense, "Riku."

He felt someone grab his hand and like waking up from a strange dream he was standing perfectly fine with his hand held by the black-haired girl in front of him as if nothing had happened. Strangely enough he was a little different; her hair was longer and she was wearing different clothes. Instead of pain his chest, he felt warm and comforted.

She wore a sad expression as she pleaded, "Please don't go."

There was something in her green eyes that he knew and it tugged at the back of his mind. There was something he needed to confirm. He pulled her into a hug and felt her stiffen in surprise.

It was real; even if the memories and dreams were a lie, what he felt was real. Somehow he knew this girl but just couldn't remember her. Why had he forgotten in the first place?

"Uh, Riku, what are you—" she said awkwardly hugging him back a little but seemed embarrassed.

Realizing that he was still embracing her, he parted feeling strangely embarrassed by his own actions as well, "Sorry, I just wanted you to know that even if I do leave, I'll be back."

He smiled to reassure her which made her smile as well.

"Thank you," she said.

A white light covered his vision and suddenly he felt like he was falling again only to find himself in another unfamiliar world in front of a castle at night. The girl was nowhere to be seen. Putting a hand to his chest he could still feel the warmth. Maybe there were some dreams that lied to him but she was real. It was like his heart was telling him so. Staring at the castle he swore that he would find out who she was by the time that this was over.

* * *

When he arrived in the next world he stepped into a tower with water falling down the staircase.

"A flood? Strange . . . It's coming from upstairs," he commented.

He ran up the many stairs into Yen Sid's room only to find Mickey in the chair at the desk.

"Mickey!" Riku shouted running up to him only to noticed a strange dark power moving him.

The mouse had his eyes closed while darkness moved his hands in conducting motions.

Seeing music on a stand nearby, he walked up to it, "It's this musical score. It has him trapped."

Summoning his Keyblade, he prepared to vanquish it when a voice sounded out of nowhere, "You won't be able to defeat that darkness with brute force. I'm Mickey, the sorcerer's apprentice. Who are you?"

He walked over the Mickey but he still seemed to be in under the curse.

Unsure of where to look he answered, "Riku."

He dismissed his weapon asking, "If brute force won't work, tell me what will."

"Do ya really mean you're gonna try and help me?" Mickey questioned hopefully.

"Yes," Riku confirmed.

"Gosh, Riku, something tells me you and I are gonna be good friends, and we'll help each other out a lot someday," he said making Riku smile as little.

If only this Mickey knew how much they would help each other some day.

Another music stand appeared with blue music surrounding it, "Inside this music is a Sound Idea powerful enough to dispel the darkness. Can ya find it?"

"I'll try. Leave it to me," Riku said confidently before summoning his Keyblade and entering the music.

He now found himself looking for a Sound Idea in a musical world. All of the animals were strange instruments but there was one bird that looked normal. It was just one black bird. It mostly mimicked the sounds of the instruments but at some point it started to say words.

"Riku!" it called out in a female voice.

It kind of sounded like the black-haired girl's voice. Where had it heard that before?

It flew off in the direction of a snowy mountain.

"Hey, wait up!" did it want him to follow it?

It might have been a trap but his curiosity was getting the better of him. Just as it landed in the snow it turned pure white. As soon as he stepped on the snow, the drowsiness hit him again. This time he was more prepared as he let sleep take him. What would he find this time?

The white walls of Castle Oblivion where stained with darkness seeping from a source across the room. His eyes followed the black tendrils to see the source was actually the black-haired girl. Hardly thinking of his actions he ran up to her to offer some kind of help.

"Hey are you alright?" he asked approaching her and trying to reach out and shake her awake.

She seemed unconscious only being held up by the dark power around her.

"You have to wake up," he pleaded as the darkness tightened its grip on her.

She slowly opened her eyes not knowing where she was for a moment before she saw him.

She gasped and yelled, "Stay back!"

He flinched, startled by this reaction but continued, "Come on, we need to get you out of there."

Shaking her head, her voice cracked, "I'm darkness, Riku. I can't escape anywhere, it's always there. You were better off without me, you always were."

She couldn't even look at him as she spoke.

"What are you saying?" he asked a little confused.

"My being is all darkness," she explained with a lowered head, "I was born in it. I destroyed my home and . . . I almost destroyed you. My darkness feeds the darkness in others."

He laughed a little making her finally look up at him.

"What's so funny?" she asked curiously.

"You can't be all darkness. You don't have the kind of scent that creatures of the darkness possess," he said thoughtfully while placing a hand to his chest, "believe me, I know."

She really didn't have that kind of scent. Even if he didn't know about her in the past, who she was right now didn't feel like anything bad. In fact she had a strong scent of something more precious.

"Even though you have darkness, you have light as well. I've seen it," he said looking her in her wide eyes.

"I . . . have light?" she questioned, bewildered.

"Yeah," he smiled softly before explaining, "Before, when I was pulled into the darkness, you called my name and brought me back to the light. I didn't think much of it then, because this all seemed like some really strange dream, but I know that light was you. It was something I never felt before and at the same time it was familiar. I couldn't remember where I felt it before, but now I'm certain it was you."

Her mouth was slightly open in disbelief as tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

"Riku . . . I'm so sorry," she said before smiling widely, "but I'm so glad I met you."

At this point the darkness around her leapt up and encircled him before dragging him under the floor, into the shadows. He struggled against it out of habit as it then dove straight into him. He let out a scream of pain from the sheer force of it and couldn't move as it dug inside his heart only to rip something out. Whatever it was, it didn't want to come out willingly but as soon as it was removed he felt lighter and dizzy. What had it taken out?

He gasped wondering what just happened only to notice a glowing light in front of him. But as soon as he looked at it he realized it was a person, the black-haired girl to be exact. She smiled brightly in the abyss looking slightly different from the girl he met before. She had different clothes and slightly longer hair but she defiantly had the same face and eyes.

"Thank you," she simply said as light engulfed everything.

He awoke on the cold white snow still feeling lighter from the dream. In fact, as the dizziness wore off he felt great. Flexing his hands and tapping his feet on the ground a few times it really was like an invisible weight had been lifted.

Feeling invigorated he ran off to search for the Sound Idea again. Fighting through Nightmares, he found himself in front of a floating score surrounded by a light. It drifted into him, clearing his mind. It was only moments before a darkness swept across the musical land, changing the notes to something deeper and more sinister.

The ground gave way and he fell, letting out a yell. These kinds of things usually only happened in the other dreams but he wasn't drowsy this time. He must still be in the music world because the music was shaping the world around him. Looking around he saw the notes form a dark world lined with lava while music swirled up to a volcano. He wasn't falling anymore, in fact, he could glide around in this place so he made for the volcano, sensing the dark energy coming from there.

He saw a person in a black cloak standing dangerously on the mouth of the fiery mountain. Landing on a stone nearby, they examined each other. This was the man he had seen before in other worlds. Why did he keep showing up?

Riku spoke first, "You waiting for me?"

"Yes. The boy chosen by the Keyblade—Riku," the silver-haired man said simply.

"What?" Riku questioned.

"It was yours first, wasn't it? But you succumbed to the darkness you could not control, and your prize—the Keyblade—passed onto Sora instead. Your mistakes always end up being other people's problems," he said with a hint of a smirk.

Riku clenched his fist and adverted his eyes from the memories of his past where he destroyed his home.

"Maybe so," he said looking up, "But I'm here to change all of that."

"Once again you performed predictably, although on a grander scale than I imagined," he said mysteriously.

Riku was already fed up with his guy, "If you're feeling so chatty, let's skip to where you reveal what this is all about."

Riku glared at him confidently but the man stood there unflinchingly as fire erupted from the chasm of lava behind him.

"I don't know how you did it, but you really have found a way to trap darkness inside your heart. And a boy who's immune to darkness is of no use to us," he stated with contempt.

"Well, there's some good news," Riku said with venom and relief.

"Your abyss awaits," the man smirked while the volcano fully erupted behind him, spitting out flames and rocks.

The man disappeared as smoke and ash covered the steep fiery mountain. A great pitch black demon unfolded its enormous bat wings and roared for its freedom from the depths. Riku had been blown away by the force of the eruption only to face the colossal creature. Pillars of fire shot out from the ground as Riku nearly dodged them. The overwhelming smell of sulfur dulled his senses while spirits latched on to him, draining his strength. He spun through the air, shaking them off as he flew toward the beast. It had taken him a while to fly across the valley but he finally reached the demon, driving the Keyblade straight through him. When the black beast fell, a light erupted from above and enveloped him only to bring him back to the tower.

Looking around, it was like he had never left.

Mickey's voice echoed in the room, "Thank you, Riku. Say, can we try out that Sound Idea?"

Holding up his hands the Sound Idea naturally released into the air. Summoning his Keyblade, Riku conducted the score. The sound of a piano whimsically danced in the air before entering the dark music on the stand. Still, nothing happened.

Riku wondered what else he could do. Wasn't the Sound Idea enough?

As if to answer his question, another score appeared adding a layer to the music. The scores danced around one another creating an even greater light to combat the dark orchestrated spell. The magic melted away leaving the tower the way it was before the curse.

Mickey was up and testing out his movements before exclaiming, "That was amazing! What happened?"

Riku knew all too well what, or more specifically who, helped out, "Sora."

"Sora?" Mickey said then laughed a little, "Funny . . . Just hearing that name kinda makes me wanna smile."

"Yeah. That's how he is," Riku said thinking of how his friend probably jumped right in to help without a second thought to it.

"Whaddaya know . . . Riku and Sora. The Sound Ideas you two set free joined together. And when they did, they made a great and powerful harmony," Mickey explained.

Riku nodded.

"Sora can find the brightest part of anything, and pull off miracles like there's nothing to it. It's pretty hard not to smile around him," Riku spoke fondly about his silly friend.

"Wow!" Mickey exclaimed happily, "No wonder the music sounded like so much fun. But I bet he's got you to thank for that. Having such a good friend means he could really enjoy it."

"Huh?" Riku tilted his head a little.

Mickey continued, "It's like each of you is holding on to a little part of the other. Your hearts are always in tune, so they're free to sing."

Each of them was holding on to a little part of the other. This was probably true of all his friends. Sora and he always got along, they were like strange opposites that went well together. With all that happened lately his thoughts also drifted to his forgotten friend. Maybe the reason she felt familiar all the time was because they were always connected. That meant she had a part of him too. Thinking back to when he met her he halted. He remembered. He remembered how he met her, what they said to each other, the journey through Castle Oblivion, everything. It wasn't blurry or blacked out.

"Gosh, I hope I can be part of the team someday," Mickey wished, pulling Riku from his thoughts.

This made Riku smile as they shook hands, "You will. Trust me"

Mickey giggled. Mickey had been there for him as far back as Castle Oblivion as well. He wondered if Mickey remembered her. They also had met back then.

When Mickey had left the room to check on the rest of the tower before his teacher arrived back home, a Keyhole appeared by the window. Summoning the Keyblade, he held it up and unlocked another Sleeping World. If he counted correctly, this would have been the seventh Keyhole he unlocked. So did that mean that the exam was over? He accomplished everything he had set out to do, including remembering that girl. Wait, ' _that girl_ '? For the life of him, he couldn't remember her name, even in the memories he now had, every time he said her name, or when she had first told him her name, it was all blank. But why?


	3. Chapter 3: The Last Piece

**Chapter 3: The Last Piece**

* * *

Drifting into another world he descended onto a white metallic structure.

"Where am I now?" Riku questioned in the silent world.

It was familiar as well but he never wanted to come back here. This was the World that Never Was.

"Why am I here? I unlocked all seven Keyholes—so I should be back in the world I came from," he wondered if he had miscounted.

Well there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. If he was here, there had to be a reason why. Continuing through the world he fought through more Dream Eater enemies telling him that he was still in the dream. Disarming the security and climbing upward he eventually reached someone floating in an orb.

"Is that . . . Sora?" Riku said in surprise, seeing his friend asleep and floating in a bubble surrounded by darkness.

He ran over to him and called out his name, "Sora!"

Now that he could examine his friend more closely, he could see the images of himself and Kairi walking away, a dog running through traverse town and other images from Sora's past. Knowing his friend this worried him. Sora would sleep for ages if he let him but not only that, Sora looked like he was caught up in a sleep that wasn't of his choosing.

Reaching in and pulling on his friend's hand he encouraged him to wake, "Sora! Don't! You've gotta wake up! Sora!"

Although, Sora didn't seem to acknowledge he was there at all, too deep in the dream to respond. The darkness surrounding him swirled and materialized a shadow figure in a black cloak behind Riku.

Riku turned to it and scowled, "Are you what's trapping him in that nightmare?"

The red-eyed figure stood there unfazed.

"'Cause if you are . . . I'm what nightmares fear!" Riku shouted summoning his Keyblade and preparing to fight.

The figure teleported and changed position often enough to avoid Riku's attacks. The battle was tough, Riku could hardly get any shots in as the figure fired darkness at him. He even formed a barrier around Riku that threatened to squish him into a tiny cube if he didn't dodge in time. Still, thinking of his friend, he dodged and struck the hooded figure until finally the red eyes faded away.

As soon as the shadow was surely defeated he ran over to Sora again. The darkness surrounding his bubble was gone.

"Sora, don't chase the dreams. They'll lead you nowhere, just to an abyss you'll never be able to wake up from," Riku said, wondering if he could hear him now.

Like a mirage the environment shifted and warped from Sora to the skyscraper in a dark city then back to the room.

Riku looked around confused, "What? What's going on in Sora's world? Why won't he open his eyes? Is he still in the nightmare?"

"That is right," an unpleasant voice answered.

Riku recognized it right away, "Ansem!"

"Sora can no longer wake up. No matter how many nightmares you consume, you cannot wake someone who has fallen into the chasm of dreams."

"What?" Riku looked around for the source of the voice but the environment kept shifting.

His voice continued out of nowhere, "Dreams hold our memories. Sleep holds our dreams. And darkness—it holds our sleep. Sora's heart belongs to the darkness now."

"Sora would never give in to the darkness!" Riku yelled in defense.

"But you feel it, don't you? This world, the nightmare, the abyss. Why haven't you returned to the reality whence you came?" Ansem questioned.

Riku gasped as he realized what he was in, "No. This is a . . ."

"Dream of a dream," Ansem finished his thoughts, "A twofold nightmare. This whole journey, you have been inside Sora's dreams. And now darkness within darkness awaits you."

"What?" Riku felt his feet suddenly sink into the ground. The darkness below him was like a quicksand.

He tried pulling his legs up but they wouldn't budge, "No. I can't get loose!"

He cries out grasping at the air before he was fully submerged in the dark pool. Like many times before he found his consciousness in the abyss. He didn't even need to open his eyes to know that Ansem was there.

"At the start of your test, when you struck out from that tiny island, you saw me there dressed in a robe. Immediately you knew something was wrong, so without even knowing it, you dove into Sora's dream. And you became exactly what that sigil on your back represents—a Dream Eater to protect Sora from nightmares," Ansem explained.

Finally opening his eyes to face Ansem, Riku asked calmly, "Me? I'm a Dream Eater?"

"Correct," Ansem smirked, "But you failed to protect him. After all your efforts to command the darkness and protect those you cherish, it is a shame you locked that power away in the end."

It was true that he didn't make it there in time, but that couldn't be all he could do.

"Except . . . it's not over. I can still save Sora," Riku stated firmly with a clenched fist.

There was a glint in Ansem's orange eyes as he saw the opportunity to strike, "So you understand what to do. Set the darkness in you free, and you can rescue your friend."

Ansem then offered his hand to Riku, inviting him to embrace the darkness once again.

Riku was calmer than ever as he laid out his thoughts, "Ansem. Or . . . Xehanort. You used to be a Keyblade wielder. But darkness stole your heart, and the Keyblade with it. Don't you see? That's half the reason I'm even on this journey."

Riku placed a hand over his heart, thinking back to all the things he had done, "After allowing darkness into my heart, am I still fit to wield the Keyblade? Even after locking you away, here you are, haunting me again. So I get it now. There's no point in trying to hold the darkness back."

"At last, you see clearly," Ansem agreed with his last statement.

Although, Riku wasn't finished with his thoughts, "You know . . . when I look at you . . . there's this memory that flashes back. A secret I said I'd keep when I was little. The main reason I kept dreaming about seeing the outside world . . . was 'cause of him."

Strangely enough, after his last meeting with the black-haired girl all his memories had become clearer. Ansem on the other hand seemed to recognize this memory as well.

"My journey begins here, and now," Riku said with determination while summoning his Keyblade, "I'm going back to the real world, and then to Sora's side."

Ansem recalled his hand as he heard the boy's decision, "That . . . is your answer?"

"Yes. I know the way. Consume the darkness, return it to light," Riku said getting ready to fight.

"You can try," Ansem scoffed as the area filled with a spiral of darkness.

He folded his arms as his dark guardian appeared behind him. Riku then fought him like so many times before. His speech about darkness really was getting old. When he had defeated him he descended to the dark tendrils that made up the ground.

"Ansem! You're part of my heart now. Part of the light!" Riku yelled out ready for more.

Shadows lashed around Ansem, "Ever the fool, boy. And forever a pawn of the darkness!"

Ansem then took on a darker form as this guardian became bigger and stronger. The fight was more difficult forcing him to dodge and block with great precision. Still, Riku was used to fighting him and in no time at all they began to crumble away. Ansem was out by this time but the guardian reached out for Riku. He held up his Keyblade as if to answer the beckoning dark being's action. The guardian then faded away leaving Riku alone.

Riku sighs in relief looking at this blade, "Strength, to protect what matters."

That was his true strength now. He wanted to protect what mattered. Riku closed his eyes letting the world shift away as he found himself in front of a skyscraper that he recognized.

' _This place . . . Did I finally make it out of the dream?'_ Riku thought, _'Sora and I have been split up since the start of our journey, because Ansem—no, because Xehanort planned it. And that means . . . we're a long way off course from the Mark of Mastery exam Yen Sid gave us.'_

This wasn't about the exam anymore. He had a bad feeling that Sora wasn't out of danger yet. First, he needed to find Sora.

"All right. Sora's gotta be here . . . somewhere," he said walking into the empty city.

Eventually he found himself at the edge of a vast chasm where a castle stood in the sky.

There was a path up to this place before, but now it was totally disconnected, "End of the road, huh?"

He looked up at the castle wondering, "I know I'm back in the real world, but I still have my Dream Eater powers. Which means . . . he still hasn't woken up. Where are you, Sora?"

He heard a faint meow and gasped as he searched for the source of the sound. Another whimper out of nowhere led his eyes to the castle. A Meow Wow Dream Eater rolled around on a platform.

"A Dream Eater! Is that where Sora is?" Riku questioned, "How do I get across?"

Looking over the huge gap, it seemed impossible. Just then the Komory Bat he traveled with appeared and landed on his shoulder, chirping happily.

He looked over at the Meow Wow and back to the bat then smiled, petting the creature, "Right. I get it."

The connection between the Dream Eaters helped Riku summon a bridge of light as he crossed over to the castle. Traveling up through the floors he found himself in a white room with thrones of different heights laid out in a circle.

Looking down at one of the lowest thrones from the center platform he gasped, "Sora!"

He jumped off the platform and ran over to Sora but was stopped with a simple flick of the cloaked man's fingers as he appeared from a dark corridor. The force blew him back onto the center platform heavily, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Hands off my new vessel," he said calmly.

Riku couldn't sit up fully, "Vessel?"

' _This person . . . is Xehanort as well_ ,' Riku thought through the pain.

"Yes," the young Xehanort answered, "We originally had our sights set on you. But, you developed a certain . . . resistance to darkness. So we did what the Keyblade did, and moved down the list."

Riku slowly stood up to face the young man.

Xehanort only continued to explain, "Roxas . . . Now, there was a worthy candidate. But, unfortunately, he became too aware of himself, and returned to Sora. Organization XIII's true goal is to divide Xehanort's heart among thirteen vessels. Thanks to you and Sora, we learned not all our candidates were fit for the task. But, we managed to make up the difference. And now, Sora, the thirteenth vessel, is within our grasp."

Riku let this new information sink in, "Thirteen . . . Xehanorts?"

He looks up then gasps as the rest of the seats fill with familiar and unfamiliar faces.

"What is . . ."

"The real Organization XIII," Xehanort stated.

"The Organization?" Riku questioned.

"I am Xehanort from the most distant past," he explained further, "My future self gave me a task—to visit the splintered versions of myself in many worlds, and ensure they gathered here today.

"From the past?" This was too much to take in. Could he really be from another time?

"There are restrictions to movement through time. First, you must leave your body behind to do it. Then, there must be a version of you waiting at the destination. Upon arrival, you can only move forward as per the laws of time. And you cannot rewrite the events that are destined to happen," he stated.

He had to be explaining this for a reason.

"What have you done?" Riku questioned accusingly.

Unfazed, young Xehanort continued, "My most future self will arrive soon. Then, time for all of us will return to normal . . ."

He raised his hand up to point at the highest throne, where a smoky darkness was still forming.

". . . and I will go back to my era to live the life fate has in store. He can vouch for that," Xehanort assured.

Light from above sparkled and shot down at Xehanort, knocking him back as a voice rang out, "Stopga!"

A sudden burst of energy encased the room and froze time. Riku covered his eyes instinctively but when he looked up he saw another friend of his.

"I'm glad I'm not too late," Mickey turned and smiled at Riku.

"Mickey!" Riku exclaimed running up to him.

"Just grab Sora so we can go! I can't stop them for long," Mickey warned, making use of the little time that they had.

Looking up, Riku noticed that everything was frozen, including the forming darkness, "Okay!"

The mouse was suddenly hit from behind, sending him flying across the room.

"Mickey!" Riku called out astonished.

The time spell on the room wavered as Riku turned sharply to look at the young Xehanort that was now emanating darkness.

"I said, hands off!" he ordered angrily.

"How can you be moving?" Riku wondered in surprise.

The Xehanort summoned a dark Keyblade.

Mickey gasped, "Oh no. Are you . . ."

Xehanort's eyes glowed for a moment as his fury grew, "Begone."

The room transformed before Riku's eyes into a place beyond space and time. Riku readied to fight him only to find that this Xehanort was fast. He could hardly keep up with his movements. Flurries of attacks came at him from all angles as Xehanort teleported from one place to another.

Riku did all he could to make a hit but just as he was about to strike, Xehanort called out, "Time stop!"

Riku couldn't move for a moment as a large clock appeared behind the young Xehanort. Riku lashed out at him striking the clock a few times as Xehanort winced, teleporting madly. The clock had to be his weakness. He watched as the hands of the clock spun backwards. The more he tried to go for the clock, the more Xehanort teleported sending blasts of energy at him. He couldn't get to it in time and the clock struck twelve.

"You shall wander forever!" Xehanort yelled as the clock spun wildly backwards.

Riku gasped as he faced Xehanort again, his wounds healed like nothing had happened. It's like the fight had started over again. Like before, Xehanort teleported, striking from all directions. When he summoned the clock again Riku noticed a pole nearby that he could use to his advantage. The countdown started and Riku used the pole to gain momentum. Xehanort sent bolts of dark power his way that Riku deflected back at him. Flinching from the fast reaction, Xehanort was caught off guard. As soon as Riku gained the right speed he shot at him, shattering the clock just before it reached twelve. The world then dissolved back the round throne room.

"Are you okay, Riku?" Mickey ran up to him concerned.

Riku turned to him, "Yeah. Thanks, Mickey."

The spell on the room rippled and vanished.

"Master Xehanort! We were right about you!" Mickey gasped looking up.

Riku turned his attention to the highest throne where he saw an old man sitting with a please expression plastered on his face. He glared at him. Was this the mastermind behind it all?

"All of this was decided. My twelve selves would welcome me here on this day, when I would return a complete person," he said a gruff voice, "It is the future which lies beyond my sight."

"Why are you doing this?" Mickey questioned.

The old Xehanort explained, "In ancient times, people believed that light was a gift from an unseen land by the name of Kingdom Hearts. But Kingdom Hearts was safeguarded by its counterpart, the X-blade. Warriors vied for that precious light, thus beginning the 'Keyblade War.' The violent clash shattered the X-blade into twenty pieces—seven of light, and thirteen of darkness. And the only real Kingdom Hearts was swallowed by the darkness, never to surface again. I once tried to create my own pure light and darkness to forge the X-blade, but the attempt ended in failure. In my eagerness, I had lost sight of the correct way to achieve my goal. I acted rashly. I can admit that now."

He smirked, finding his own actions funny.

Mickey glared, "What you did back then—your mistakes—changed the destinies of three of my friends!"

Xehanort brushed it off, "Ah, but destiny is never left to chance. I merely guided them to their proper places. The broken boy who failed to be the blade . . . the misguided master who sacrificed herself for a friend . . . and the feckless youth who became my new vessel."

Mickey looked down sadly, "I couldn't find a way to save 'em. But I wanted to believe that their sacrifice stopped you for good. Why? How was I so blind? I should've seen it, as soon as Maleficent started gathering the seven princesses of heart."

"Yes. They were all my doing. I used the evil fairy to find seven pure lights for me, just as I prepared thirteen vessels to fill with pure darkness."

Riku walked up beside Mickey and interjected firmly, "But you failed. Sora stopped you in your tracks on both counts."

"Yes, he did," Xehanort with contempt, "That dull, ordinary boy—a Keyblade wielder so unlike any I have ever seen. However, I have not abandoned my ambitions—the seven guardians of light and the thirteen seekers of darkness."

The old man chuckled.

"Seven guardians of light?" Mickey said counting to himself, "Well, for Keyblade wielders, there's me and Riku and Sora. And my three missing friends, that's six. Then the seventh would be . . ."

He then gasped, looking around at the thrones, "That means . . . the thirteen seekers of darkness . . ."

This only further amused Xehanort, "Yes, little king. Perceptive. But Sora and another on your list belong to me now. And that puts you three guardians short. But worry not. All of the pieces are destined to appear. Your seven lights just like my thirteen darknesses, whose final clash will beget the prize I seek—"

"The X-blade!" Mickey and Xehanort said together.

The old man then stands on his throne and summons his dark Keyblade, "But first, the thirteen darknesses shall be united. All the seats have been filled. And now the last vessel shall bear my heart like the rest!"

He waved his hand threateningly as Sora's throne rose up from the ground.

"No!" Mickey shouted and ran.

"Sora!" Riku did the same.

Jumping from throne to throne, Mickey made his way upward only to be stopped by Xemnas. Riku gasped and was knocked to the ground by Ansem. Xehanort laughed quietly as Sora's throne reached its maximum height. He then waved his hand over the blade, casting some sort of magic on it before blasting a glowing heart at Sora. Riku watched helplessly as it nearly hit Sora when something blocked it in an explosion.

Mickey exclaimed, "He made it!"

"You!" Xemnas said with venom.

In a flurry of flames, Lea stood casually on the throne, holding a comatose Sora in one arm and his weapon in the other.

Xigbar yelled "Axel!"

"Axel? Please," Lea smirked "The name's Lea. Got it memorized?"

"You're not supposed to be here!" Xigbar shouted angrily.

"Promises to keep. I'll always be there to get my friends back. What, bad timing?" he teased.

He then turned his attention to Xehanort, "You had your perfect little script, but you kinda forgot to write the sequel. Now, let's find out what happens!"

Xigbar slammed his fist on the arm of his throne, looking up at the old man, "What now, you old coot? Our time is up!"

Xehanort only smiled as one of the hooded members jumps out of their throne summoning a claymore that clashed with Lea's weapon. The hood fell back from the impact revealing a man with blue hair.

"Isa!" Lea said in surprise.

Saïx's now cold yellow eyes bore down on Lea the same way his weapon did. Lea jumped backward unable to match his strength. Mickey on the other hand, took this moment to summon his Keyblade. Xemnas only teleported away before Mickey could inflict any damage. Riku resummoned his Keyblade in the opposite direction to swing backward at Ansem who teleported away as well. They both reappeared next to Xehanort in the air. Mickey, Lea and Riku stood with their weapons ready on the platform below.

"Why are you here, Axel?" Riku asked to his side.

"No, I told you my name's—" He was going to explain, annoyed, but decided to save it for later, "Agh, whatever, Axel, fine. Now let's get outta here!"

"Right!" Mickey said turning toward him.

Ansem summoned his guardian who rushed down to grab Mickey and Riku as Lea jumps back. Riku and Mickey struggled but a sparkle of light shone from above, falling down and hitting the guardian on the head. It disappeared dropping the king and Riku.

Donald and Goofy laid on the floor a little dazed from the trip.

"Were we supposed to do that?" Donald asked on the floor.

"I think so," Goofy commented lying on his back.

Riku laughed a little. These two knew how to make an entrance.

"Goofy, Donald! You saved us!" Mickey said surprised to see them.

Ansem, Xemnas, Xehanort and the rest of the new Organization begin to fade away.

"We are out of time. Neither the union of light nor darkness has been achieved, and we must all return whence we came. But, the gathering of the seven and thirteen is nigh," Xehanort said unfazed by the events.

Young Xehanort and Riku exchanged stares, as did Saïx and Lea.

Xehanort continued, "Let us finish this at the fated place, once your lights and my darknesses have joined together!"

Xehanort faded away as did all the members of the Organization.

* * *

Worried about Sora, they had made their way back to the tower to see Yen Sid. Riku, finally fully out of the dream, returned to his original form.

"Seven lights, thirteen darknesses . . . Master Xehanort has been busy," Yen Sid pondered.

Lea leaned against a shelf while all the others surrounded Sora who was propped up against a wall, unable to wake.

Donald and Goofy didn't know what to say while Mickey spoke first, "Aw, Sora. Don't tell me your heart's sleeping, too."

"No, Mickey," Yen Sid assured, "This affliction is not the same."

They all looked back at him, still sitting on his chair in thought.

"Can we do anything for him?" Riku offered.

"In your Mark of Mastery exam, you were to unlock seven Sleeping Keyholes. By doing so, you would awaken those worlds from their prison of slumber, and also acquire the power to free a heart from its sleep. Riku, you unlocked those Keyholes within Sora's dreams. Therefore, it stands to reason that you now have the power to awaken Sora's heart," he explained.

Mickey gasped, "You want him to dive back into Sora's sleep? But Master, Sora's heart is down in the darkest abyss. If Riku's not careful, he might just get trapped down there with him. No . . . I'll go instead."

Yen Sid rose from his chair and walked over to them, "And perhaps you may even succeed, Mickey. But there is no denying Riku stands the better chance, having dived into Sora's heart as long as he has."

Mickey mulled it over while Donald and Goofy seemed worried. Riku only looked at his friend and smiled. He knew what to do.

"Mickey . . . I really appreciate it. But . . . I'll go wake Sora up," Riku said confidently.

"Riku," Mickey said, worried.

He looked back at his friend, "Look at his face. Sleeping like nothing's wrong—like there's nothing to even worry about. He's always been like that. The three of us would agree to work on the raft, and then this guy would go and take a nap on the beach. You see, it's my job to keep him on his toes. Besides, what kind of Keyblade Master sleeps through his test?"

They all smiled at this slight joke.

Riku then became a little more serious, "I'm doing it for me, too. Sora saved me once. And . . . I heard him call my name. He needs me."

Mickey nodded, "There's something real strong that binds us to each other. Even in the darkness, you can reach him. All you gotta do is follow that connection!"

"Gee, we're all connected to Sora," Goofy added.

"You said it!" Donald chimed.

From the far end of the room Lea joined the conversation, "And if the darkness gets ya, I promise I'll bail you out. 'Dark Rescue' is my middle name."

Riku stood up and looked at everyone in turn, "Guys, thank you. Sora and I will be back soon."

He bowed to Yen Sid and walked a few steps from Sora to summon his Keyblade. He pointed it at Sora where the light resonated and made a portal into Sora's dream. Everyone nodded in approval and Riku nodded back before the light sucked him into the dark recesses of Sora's heart. Diving through Sora's memories he awakened at the bottom of a dark pit.

An endless ocean of darkness spread out before Riku, rippling with each movement.

"This abyss . . . Am I in Sora's dream?" Riku commented to himself.

A black armored figure emerged from the water below. A Nightmare symbol stained the mask as he raised his Keyblade.

"What?" Riku said in surprise summoning his own Keyblade.

Like many enemies before, he was fast. Shots of darkness followed him as he tried to keep up. The battle was long but Riku wore him down and delivered the finishing blow to his helm. The armor cracked and split apart revealing Sora who fell forward, sinking in the black mud.

"Sora!" Riku ran up and tried to pull his friend out of the darkness but couldn't grasp onto him.

The darkness shrank away revealing a platform of stained glass depicting Sora's heart. The Keyblade the armored figure used transformed into a normal Kingdom Key.

"I'll find you, Sora," Riku said with determination as he picked up the Keyblade that was left behind and held it up, searching.

A Keyhole appeared on the floor. Riku laughed a little to himself. Of course, this was Sora's sleeping heart. He jumped up into the air and aimed the blade at the Keyhole unlocking it like many others. Light consumed everything leaving Riku with the familiar sounds and scents of his home. It was sunset as he looked out at the waves from the dock. He was still in the dream but the island waves were comforting.

Going to look for Sora he turned only to see a familiar face, though it was out of place on the island, "Roxas?"

"What is it that you're so afraid of?" he asked simply.

"Huh? Hmm . . ." Riku thought about it for a moment.

If he was afraid of anything it would have to be, "Losing something that's important."

Roxas' image fades leaving Riku to shrug it off. It was a dream after all.

He walked off onto the beach to see, "Roxas?"

Then he looked a little closer, "No, wait . . ."

He was a little different.

"What is the one thing you care about more than anything else?" he asked Riku.

"Hmm . . ." another question he had to think about, "My close friends."

The boy disappeared like Roxas.

Riku looked around confused, "What is going on?"

He then noticed someone sitting on the bent tree and gasps, wondering if it could be Sora.

"Sora!" he yelled but as he got closer he saw black hair and feminine features.

His heart leapt. Was it her? What would she be doing here?

Upon closer inspection he found that he didn't know this girl at all. Was this someone Sora knew that he didn't?

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Riku. What do you wish?" she questioned gently.

"More questions . . . All right . . ." he said crossing his arms and leaning against the tree in thought.

Seeing this girl, he was reminded of the black-haired girl in his memories. He still didn't know her name.

"I wish . . . to recover something important that I lost," he answered.

A warm light flashed as he found himself in the sunset sky. He gasped looking down at a still, mirror-like water that reflected the sky above. An endless reflection of the sky with no land in sight. It almost looked like he was standing on air.

It was then he noticed a figure standing some meters away. It was her, but why here? He was still in Sora's dream right? Although, he was in Sora's dreams before and she showed up. What did it all mean?

She turned to him and smiled, "Hey Riku. I'm glad to see you're okay."

He couldn't help but smile back, "I remember you, but something has been bothering me. If you fell asleep the same way Sora did, wouldn't you have been the one to forget me? Wouldn't I have found you where Sora was as well? Why am I seeing you in Sora's dreams? Where are you?"

She held her arm looking a little sheepish, "Well, like when I first met you and lied about my memory, I lied about that as well. I didn't go to sleep. I had Namine use my darkness to lock away the memories of me in the hearts of everyone I've met."

"Why would you do that?" he questioned.

She sighed sadly putting a hand to her heart, "I bring darkness where ever I go. I figured you and everyone else would be better off without me. It was . . . the least I could do for you."

Riku shook his head, "I've told you before: you're not all darkness. I've seen your light, I've felt it."

He held a hand to his heart as well.

She giggled a little, "I don't know about that but maybe that's how you found me hiding in the darkness."

Looking at her hands she continued, "I've noticed that the darkness had faded a bit around my heart. It's probably the reason I couldn't keep the seal on your heart and memories, but it looks like you didn't really need me to keep anything sealed anymore."

Thinking back to the times he fell asleep and the darkness pulled something out of him, was that the seal?

She looked over at the sun, "It's beautiful at dusk isn't it?"

He looked as well seeing the sun reflected in the glass water, "Yeah."

"You've grown so much more than I have. I could hardly recognize you when you came here," she said thinking of how he struggled back in Castle Oblivion, "I knew you could beat it, your darkness."

It was itching him now, "What's your name?"

She smiled again and avoided the question, "You know Riku, the only reason I can be here is because I fell asleep. I'm still asleep, deep in the heart of a world. Do you know who I found there?"

He waited, sensing that the question wasn't for him to answer.

"I found someone that kind of reminded me of your friend. He was sleeping as well. What I didn't know is he was actually connected to your friend, Sora, right?" she said staring at him gently.

Sora? How did this all connect?

"What do you mean he was connected to him?" he questioned curiously.

"In his dream," she answered simply, "Because I fell asleep by him, I can see it in his dream. His heart is with Sora yet maybe that's why he can't wake up."

More information about his friend. Maybe this person she fell asleep by was one of the people he just met on the island. They were people in Sora's heart after all. It couldn't be Roxas so maybe it was the other boy, the one that looked like Roxas.

As he pondered her image flickered.

"I can't stay much longer," she said quickly, "Riku, please help that boy. I've seen other things in his dreams, terrible things in his past. Please help him and his friends."

"Where are you?" he asked, if he could find her then maybe he could do something.

"I'm in the heart of a world that was locked away," she said as her image started to fade away.

"I'll find you," he stated with determination.

She smiled, "Riku, do you remember our promise?"

That was one part of his memory that was still blacked out, "I . . ."

"We'll meet again," she said, taking him off guard, "I promise."

Something resonated within him making his mind clear, "I'll see you when you wake up, Leila."

She faded away completely with a wide smile across her face as the ground disappeared beneath him as well. He was falling from the sky, crashing into the water below. When he resurfaced he swam over to the beach. He was back on the shores of the island.

He remembered it all now. He would keep his promise. Feeling something out of the ordinary he looked down at his hand. When was he holding on to something? Turning his hand over, he examined a small silver pendant. It had the shape of a crescent moon and a star inside it. It looked kind of like the Star Seeker Keyblade and also like the staff she used to channel her magic.

"Leila, where ever you are, I'll find you and wake you up," he said holding the small object to his heart.

She had helped him so much in the past, it was the least he could do, but first he needed to find Sora. Standing up in the water, a bottle washed up beside him.

He put the pendent in his pants pocket and went the pick up the bottle, "What's this?"

"You were not the visitor I expected," a voice said from behind him.

A blonde man walked up beside him.

Riku recognized him immediately, "DiZ! I mean . . . Ansem the Wise. What are you doing here?"

"Perhaps I wanted to atone for events of the past, even if no apology can undo the harm I have wrought. I felt . . . that I ought to leave at least something behind. So I digitized myself and my research, and hid them within Sora," he answered.

"So this is . . . data?" he questioned looking at the bottle.

"Yes. A clue," Ansem the Wise explained, "I hope, to finding yourselves or your lost friends in your hour of need. The heart has always been quick to grow. Each exposure to light, to the natural world, to other people, shapes this most malleable part inside of us. Nobodies are not different from us in that manner. Sora was the only one able to return to his human form without destroying his Nobody. That is a statement to the love in his heart for other people, and the bonds that tie them together. Perhaps . . . he has the power to bring back the hearts and existences of those connected to him—to recreate people we thought were lost to us forever. Our most precious treasures-even an empty puppet—the trees of the forest, and the petals on the wind—there are hearts around us everywhere we look. And it does not take superhuman powers to see them. Surely we remember as children the way our hearts made everything seem so shiny, and perfect. Sora has a heart like that—uncorrupted, willing to see the good before the bad. When he sees the heart in something, it then becomes real. When a connection seems broken, he may have the power to mend it. He has touched countless hearts, he has accepted them, and he has saved them. And some of those hearts have never left him—whether they fell into darkness or were trapped there—whether they sleep in the darkness of Sora's heart, or were welcomed into its warmth—they can be saved. All Sora needs to do is be himself and follow wherever it is that his heart takes him. It is the best and the only way.

"The rest is in there," he motioned to the bottle.

Riku looked at the object again before nodding, "All right. Thanks. Thank you."

"Of course," he said simply, "Now why is it that you are here?"

"Uh . . ." he looked around for an answer.

He had gotten so caught up in the conversations he had here that he didn't even get to look for his friend, "I kinda need to wake Sora up."

"Don't tell me he's gone to sleep again?" the man asked with a light heart.

"Yeah. What'll I do with him?" Riku smiled.

"What, indeed?" he said.

They both laughed.

"Never fear. Sora is safe," he assured Riku.

"Huh?"

Ansem the Wise kept watching the sunset as he answered, "He's not here. You see, by defeating the Nightmare imprisoning Sora, you freed him."

"You mean . . . the Sora wrapped in that black phantom?" Riku questioned.

"Then, you came here, and you were questioned by three young people. That was the final key to awaken him. Sora is awake. You can go home now," the man said smiling at the boy.

"Really? Thank you," he said one last time before summoning the Keyblade he found in this world.

He then pointed it across the water where a Keyhole appeared. A beam of light shot at it unlocking the world. A light lifted him into the air.

"Young man!" Ansem the Wise called out stopping Riku, "I do not believe you ever told me your name."

Riku then smiled, thinking of how much a name really meant when he was trying to find Leila's for the longest time, "It's Riku."

He then flew up and into the Keyhole. The light surrounded him as his eyes fluttered open.

"Riku!" Mickey said happily as he stared up at Mickey, Yen Sid and Lea from the ground.

"Sora!" Riku called out sitting up suddenly.

"Hey, Donald! Come on, you're hogging it all!" Sora complained nearby.

He looked over to his right to see Sora sitting at a table with sweets and tea cups.

"Aw, calm down, Sora, and drink your tea," Donald said brushing off his complaint.

"Gawrsh, it sure is yummy!" Goofy added.

"Hey!" Riku yelled.

Sora turned around revealing that he was wearing a party hat, fake mustache and glasses. He took them off as soon as he saw his friend was awake.

"Riku . . . You're safe! Riku!" he exclaimed jumping onto his friend and hugging him.

"Wait, haven't we got this backwards?" Riku asked confused, "And why are you having a tea party?"

"You're safe, Riku!" Sora hugged him again.

"Ah, never mind," Riku gave up, putting a hand to his head, "You okay? Feeling all right?"

"Yeah, I've never been better. I was watching what was going on in my dream. And I could hear your voice the whole time. Thanks, Riku. Thanks, everybody!" He said turning to everyone as well.

They all smiled at the appreciation.

"Oh yeah!" Sora remembered, "Did we pass the test?"

Yen Sid nodded thoughtfully, "You performed truly admirably, both of you."

They both looked at each other before pushing off the ground, leaving everything still lying about. They presented themselves in front of Yen Sid's desk.

Yen Sid gave his assessment, "More than anything, I am grateful to have you both back from Xehanort's deception unharmed. And I am grateful to Lea, whose spontaneous actions turned the tides. I am also deeply sorry, for failing to perceive the danger and throwing you headlong into a perilous test. This experience has revealed many hidden truths, and we must gird ourselves for the great clash with darkness that lies before us. I believe we need a new Keyblade Master, one with a new kind of power. Sora and Riku, you both deserve the honor. However, one of you braved the realm of sleep again to unlock the final Keyhole and save a friend. Riku, I name you our new true Keyblade Master.

There was a small silence before Sora put an arm over his friend's shoulder excitedly, "Way to go, Riku!"

Sora laughed while Riku could hardly comprehend what was going on, "Y-yeah?"

"I knew you were gonna pass with flying colors. This is just so awesome!" Sora celebrated.

Riku on the other hand really couldn't believe it. Him . . . a Keyblade Master?

"Gee, Sora, you're kinda acting like it's you that passed," Goofy commented.

After all his mistakes, the struggle and the darkness, how did he make it this far?

"I told ya Sora still needed some practice," Donald added.

"Hey," Sora retorted lightly.

Riku turned toward his friend, "Really? I'm a Keyblade Master?"

Mickey, Donald, and Goofy walked over to them.

"Congratulations, Riku!" Mickey said holding out his hand.

Riku was taken by the gesture then shook it with a smile, "Thank you, Mickey. I owe it to my friends."

Sora laughed.

It was true, without his friends, he defiantly wouldn't have made it this far. Thinking of Leila, there was one more friend he needed to find and thank.

"Ah, I'll catch up with ya in no time flat," Lea added from the other side of the room.

"What? You wanna be a Keyblade Master?" Sora asked surprised.

"Yeah. I mean, I came here to learn how to wield one," he said casually.

"YOU!?" Sora and Riku said together.

When did he become a Keyblade wielder?

"Hey, thanks for the vote of confidence," he defended, "You know, I was gonna come swooping in, Keyblade in hand! But I just couldn't get mine to materialize. Must be in the snap of the wrist or something."

Holding up his hand a fiery Keyblade appeared with one of his chakrams as the handle and guard.

The sudden appearance surprised even himself, letting out a small, "Oh."

"WHOA!" Everyone said in unison.

Who would have thought Lea was a Keyblade wielder. Although, that wasn't the end of the many unexpected events to come.

* * *

 **Notes:** I think I should explain a few things. The only reason Riku was able to meet Leila in the dreams was because she had a connection with Ven and because Ven is a part of Sora, then she was in Sora's dream. Her heart resonated with Riku thus producing the dreams he had during the journey. There is more of a connection than I can explain because it would ruin some of the mystery. There is a reason Leila showed up in Castle Oblivion in the first place but so far the fact that she met Riku there is purely coincidental.


	4. Chapter 4: Reconnect

**Chapter 4: Reconnect**

* * *

Later on in front of the tower everyone had gathered to see Sora off.

"Do ya have to go?" Goofy asked.

"Well . . . I did doze off . . . I just have some stuff to take care of," he said staring at the sky.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Donald asked, concerned.

"Yeah. I won't be long," he reassured everyone.

"Be careful," Mickey cautioned.

"Very careful," Riku added.

"Right," Sora turned to them and smiled before turning back to the sky, "See you soon."

He summoned his Keyblade as a Keyhole appeared in the sky. He shot a beam of light at it and unlocked it disappearing in the light.

Watching Sora leave, Riku thought about all the things he needed to do as well. Not only was he going to find Leila, he also had an errand Yen Sid was sending him on, although when he asked, he didn't say why he needed her.

"Well, I better be off as well," Riku said walking down the short steps onto the grass.

"And where are you going?" Donald questioned, wondering why everyone seemed to be leaving.

Lea had already left to Radiant Garden and Sora only just left on a personal errand.

Riku searched for an answer, "I can't really say right now, but I'll be back soon."

Yen Sid seemed like he didn't want people to know just yet.

He summoned his Keyblade and lifted it to the sky.

"See you, Riku," Goofy waved.

"Remember to be careful too, Riku," Mickey warned and waved.

He smiled, mimicking Sora, "Right."

A beam of light shot from his blade as the light surrounded him, he was gone.

* * *

Traveling through light and space, Riku found himself home. It just happened to be dusk, the same as when he was in Sora's dream. He arrived on the main island and made his way down the streets to the shore. Just like he thought, he found Kairi there, staring out at the ocean. It was a strange feeling to be home. Every time he saw this place now, it felt comforting. To think there was a time he couldn't wait to leave this place.

As a little surprise he quietly walked up a few meters behind her and said, "I thought I'd find you here."

She flinched and turned only to smile happily, "Riku!"

Searching, she noticed someone wasn't there that she was expecting to see, "Where's Sora?"

Riku sighed, "You know him. He went off somewhere without telling anyone where."

He may have done the same thing but Yen Sid seemed like he wanted this to be kept secret for now. Besides, Sora was probably looking for the Dream Eaters. He wasn't one for abandoning companions, even if they were in a dream.

"But he'll be back soon, even if I have to go find him myself," Riku reassured her.

"Right," she said seeming a little disappointed but perked up, "So how did the test go?"

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "I'm a Keyblade Master now."

It still felt unreal to say aloud.

"That's wonderful, Riku," Kairi giggled, "What about Sora?"

Riku sighed again, "Well, he slept through his whole test and I had to go wake him up."

He didn't want to say too many details, as to not worry her.

She laughed, "That sounds like him."

This made Riku laugh a little too, "Yeah, that's Sora."

"You didn't only come here to tell me about the test, did you?" she questioned more seriously, folding her arms behind her back.

You really couldn't hide much from Kairi, "No, Master Yen Sid said he wanted to meet you. He really didn't give a reason why."

He had thought about it for a while after talking to Yen Sid. Could it have been because she was one of the Princesses of Heart, or was there another reason?

Kairi adverted her eyes as if pondering something, "I think I know why."

"Hmm?" this caught Riku off guard.

She only giggled and grabbed his hand, pulling him back toward town, "Come on, let's go!"

"Hey! Kairi," he said as she pulled him along, not giving much resistance, only to feel something drop off of him and hit the sand.

They both stopped and looked at the small object.

"What's that?" she asked, letting go.

He bent down to pick it up only to gasp, "This is—"

It was the small silver pendent, the one with the crescent moon surrounding a star. He had it in the dream but that didn't make it a real object.

"What is it Riku?" Kairi questioned curiously, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Nothing," he said quickly, "I just wasn't expecting to see this again."

He folded his fingers but Kairi moved in closer to examine it so he opened his hand again.

"It looks kind of like a Keychain. Where did you get it?" she asked looking up at him.

He didn't know why he was feeling a little flustered, "It was from someone I met when I was . . . separated from Sora and you. I had forgotten them but for some reason the test helped me remember."

"Really?" she said examining it with new interest, "it seems kind of familiar."

It did? Where would Kairi have seen something like this? Although, if Namine had met Leila, did some kind of memory of her remain?

Kairi then smiled at him a little deviously, "A girl gave this to you, right?"

Words caught in his throat, "Y-yeah but, how did you know that?"

She laughed knowingly, "Just a guess."

Rummaging through one of her pouches she pulled out a braided string.

"Why don't we attach it to this so you don't lose it," she didn't wait for response as she tied one end to the pendent.

When she was finished she clapped her hands together, "There."

As he looked at the finished product in his hand, it kind of looked more like a keepsake now. He really wasn't the sentimental type with objects but he would make an exception for this item. The chance that he would forget his promise again seemed too real to ignore.

"Thanks Kairi," he said tying one end to his belt while placing the trinket in his pocket.

"No problem. Now, you can tell me more about her while we travel," she stated backing away, "Come on!"

She ran back toward the town beckoning him to follow.

"Hey, wait up!" he yelled as he ran to catch up to her.

She didn't even know where he entered the world to begin with after all, or did she?

Things had really taken a turn during the exams. He was suddenly a Keyblade Master, remembered a friend and helped stop Sora from becoming a vessel. What was going to be their next move? Would they gather seven lights? Even if they didn't, Xehanort was gathering his thirteen darknesses. There were also these friends the king had asked Sora to help.

Thinking of Leila again and how she asked him to help someone that was connected to Sora as well, he couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with the king's friends. How was this all connected? One thing was for sure; he would protect his friends this time, no matter what.

 _Leila, it may take a while but I'll find you, I promise._

* * *

"Reconnect."

* * *

 **Notes:** To be continued in the next part. I'm really excited for when I can write it too but I have to wait until KH3 comes out. Who knows when that will happen at this point, but it will come out eventually. Then I will have to line all the pieces up and see it they all fit together nicely. It started off as a friendship and kind of turned into a slight romance in my opinion. I didn't really try to make that happen, I just wanted it to flow where it needed to. It's kind of like the implied pairing of Sora and Kairi. We'll see where this goes when Kingdom Hearts continues.


End file.
